An Honest Woman
by brakken
Summary: One-shot; Kagome lets out a little lie to Sango, Inuyasha overhears, takes it for truth, and chaos ensues. Throw in some innuendo, cursing the reason for the rating , and some rather intriguing onsen scenes, and you've got it.
1. Chapter 1

**An Honest Woman**

**Disclaimer**: I, miserable little squirt of humanity that I am, do not own the great and magnificent Inuyasha. I do enjoy playing at it though…

* * *

Inuyasha leaped into the tall pine near the campfire...and promptly began to shred innocent, rather large beams into matchwood. He was trying to distract himself from what he'd just overheard, and all of its rather horrible implications.

He failed miserably.

Flashback

* * *

Inuyasha crept silently through the low vegetation, making less noise than any feline-not that the cat in question would ever admit to losing to a dog. Reaching a boulder at the edge of the clearing, he peeked over it, glanced around, then sat quickly back down, satisfied that its occupants didn't know he was there. He wasn't supposed to be anywhere near them in the first place-but he couldn't help it.

How _could_ he help it that tonight the hot springs Kagome had squealed over were downwind of their camp _and_ out of earshot _and_ out of sight? Really, it was the girl's fault for insisting, and the slayer's and monk's for agreeing and indulging her. And how could they ever expect him to do otherwise than he currently was in such conditions? He had tried, oh how he had tried to relax and stay put when the girls left for their bathing; but it only took minutes for his instincts, frenzied from the start, to completely derail all self-control. It had only taken moments for thoughts of what exactly happens to pretty girls caught unawares to send him speeding after them.

And now, here he lurked. Cross-legged, Tessaiga propped up against one shoulder, eyes scanning the surrounding forest like searchlights, ears twitching back and forth, guarding, tense, but very aware of how much shit he was barely keeping from the fan.

And then a stray comment caught his attention, and all thoughts of his awkward position blew away like so much dust in the wind.

"...don't worry about it Sango-chan, kissing is just a natural step in the progression of a relationship. I should know; I've done a lot of kissing! So next time..."

He missed the rest of what she said, too shocked to think straight, let alone keep up his precarious balance of eavesdropping and high-alert guarding. Rigid, he sat there, her o-so-nonchalant words echoing in his ears: _I've done a lot of kissing! I've done a lot of kissing! I've done a lot of kissing_...It didn't take long for a low, harsh, growl to emerge, coupled with claws raking the earth, wishing they could rake the lips of the males who had dared touch what was _his_...

"Kagome-chan, do you hear that? It could be a youkai-do you think we should get the boys?"

Sango's voice snapped him back to reality; swiftly he muffled his telltale growl, hoping not to be caught...

"Umm…not really...Sorry Sango-chan, but I don't hear anything."

Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief, and felt some absurd sense of approval swell that Kagome wasn't going to give him away. Not that she knew it was him...probably...

"It could have heard me and stopped." Sango pointed out.

He swore silently; _why the hell does the tajiya have to be so damn alert?_

"I guess...But I don't sense any jyaki at all, do you? I think it's ok. If you're still worried about it, go ahead and investigate, but I'm staying here."

Inuyasha waited with bated breath while Sango considered her options; he let it out a few minutes later when the girls began to chat again. Furtively he made his escape, all thoughts of guard duty swept away in the need to mull over these earth-shattering developments.

End Flashback

* * *

And _now_ here he crouched, a nervous wreck, brooding at his worst over a single, simple, innocently flung out phrase._ 'I've done a lot of kissing!'_ _What the hell does that girl think she's doing? What the hell were those fuckers who'd kissed her thinking?_ _Haven't I made it damn obvious to every male that gave her more than a second glance that she was taken?_ _The wimps all backed down after a few looks, cracked knuckles and grinding teeth; growling usually didn't hurt either...The only one idiotic enough to challenge me was the stinking wolf, but I know she hasn't kissed __him__, thank Kami; I'd be able to smell it! Unless she'd bathed right afterwards...  
_

And there opened a whole new window of worries and fears; _what if that's the reason she's bathing all the time? To lose the stench of the sonovabitch? But who is this goddamn bastard that stole her from me, that dared touch what's mine? And_-he couldn't help the growl that the next thought evoked_-what if there's more than one? No, Kagome's not that kind of girl, I know her that well at least; but do I?_

_Do I, really?  
_

Up until a few minutes ago, he'd have thought Kagome to have never kissed anyone before, not even that stupid human boy making eyes at her in her own time. He'd tried to kiss her not long after they'd met, and she'd backed out, obviously filled with maidenly fear and sense of propriety; clearly not ready to kiss. But he'd known her since then, and had never smelled another male on her, save the kit-and for once he was happy the kit was the annoying childish brat he was. _Even with her bathing all the time, when would she have the chance to meet the bastard? Or did she get the kit to make disguises so she could sneak away-I wouldn't put it past the twerp-and then sneak back, me none the wiser? Or, had she, or did she, or were they..._

His thoughts spiraled ever downwards, growing more absurd and frightful and consuming by the moment, so that the jolt of Sango's return nearly tipped him off his perch; fortunately he still had some time to clear his thoughts because Kagome had wanted to relax some more, but still...And his train of thought reasserted itself spectacularly, nearly every possible implication (and quite a few impossible ones) springing to mind, one after another in a seemingly endless stream of disasters.

But it never occurred to him that the miko might have been lying.

* * *

Kagome had her face pillowed on her arms on the rocks, lazily treading water in the deep end of the pool as she whined a little, put out at being alone.

"Mou, I can't believe Sango left just because she thought Houshi-sama was peeking again...the water is so nice, and it's been so long since the last time we camped near an onsen; how could she leave, even if he was? It's not like we can really stop the hentai..."

Shaking her head, Kagome reflected on her last conversation with the slayer as she swam back to the shallows on the other side of the pool to lounge against the side. She failed to notice the shadow that shifted on the other edge of the clearing.

"And really, why does she want to? She's the one who was asking me for advice if he wants to kiss her! And it's not like they're not engaged already anyway..."

A jolt of guilt struck her just as she began to relax again; startled, she sat straight up, water streaming down her front almost violently with the speed of her move. She did not hear the low moan from the edge of the clearing, too self-absorbed as she realized: "I lied to her while I was reassuring her? What's gotten into me! I mean it's not like she'd care if I said I knew this stuff from reading or friends; what made me say that it was from personal experience?"

After a few minutes, she shook her dark mane and averted her eyes in shame. "I guess I just want it to be true so bad...It's not like all of my friends haven't had plenty of dates and kisses by now...But the one guy I want to kiss isn't interested of course…"

She missed the low groan "This one sure is."

Slapping her hands together, a look of determination on her face, she stated: "Well no more for now! I'm going to enjoy this bath with no thoughts for that baka to keep me worrying! He is gone from my mind!"

Lying back and closing her eyes with resolution, it only took moments for her to doze off again.

A chuckle answered her final statement even as she fell asleep; she thought it was a dream.

"Glad to hear that."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Inuyasha had run across another roadblock. It was a devilish, deceptive one too; small, round, ornamental, harmless in appearance; but it could easily be the ruin of him yet. Yes, the rosary could give Kagome the edge for her to leave him permanently, to the arms of that waiting bastard (he failed to suppress his shudder at the thought), or just incapacitate him in retribution for eavesdropping, (and possibly peeping) so that he never even got to ask her what she'd meant; _the wench's stupid like that, getting angry over things like 'eavesdropping' and 'reading over your shoulder', rather than important things like the kit stealing your food, or sneaking off to smooch someone else in secret._ Just the thought of either option made him gnash his teeth in frustration; _why does everything to do with that girl have to be so goddamn complicated? _and set back to brooding once again.

After a long, arduous mental marathon, Inuyasha stood at a standstill. He could either leave it, never mention it to Kagome or Sango, and try to figure out the truth on his own by staying with the girl at all times (some of them hidden of course, to catch her in the act). Or, he could pursue it directly, and risk never finding out. Neither option appealed much, as the first involved patience and deception (not exactly his specialties) and the second was almost ensured to fail.

His thoughts were interrupted by the faintest sound reaching his ears; it only took a moment before he was flying from tree to tree, cursing the distance between the onsen and the camp, his worries the last things on his mind.

He'd heard it, quiet though it was, muffled by distance; the distinctive sound of Kagome's 'Kyaa!' and a low grunt he didn't recognize as anything other than a threat.

* * *

Kagome woke with a start, her senses tingling; a year in the Sengoku Jidai had taught her to trust her instincts, even when she didn't know what the danger was, so it was with full lungs that she screamed as a hand loomed on the edge of her vision.

In only a moment, he had her mouth clamped closed with his grimy palm, but what a scream it was! He let out a few favorite expletives as he tried to dispel the ringing in his ears; the hesitation gave Kagome the time to start squirming, fiercely. With great trepidation (the skin stank of oil and unwashed flesh), but solid determination, she bit the hand over her mouth. With a grunt of surprise and pain, the hand came away, and she took no time to turn around and retreat deeper into the onsen, filling her lungs for another wail.

Seeing her intent, swearing some more, her attacker swiftly shed the tattered armor and kosode he wore and jumped in after her.

"INU-mmph!" Again the hand cut her off. Another large, powerful, bruising hand claimed her thigh, effectively paralyzing her through shock alone.

The young man (or bandit, as his armor and methods suggested) grinned wickedly at her, a carnal glint in his eye.

"That's right pretty, you stop fighting and it won't hurt a bit..."

Eyes wide with fear, Kagome went from stiff as a board to limp as a damp piece of cloth in seconds.

Chuckling maliciously, he dragged them to the shallows, pulled her out of the water, and pinned her to a tree with his own body, one hand still firmly placed over her mouth, the other holding her hands behind her back. Finally some inner strength kicked in; eyes flashing with anger, she lashed and squirmed, biting the hand over her mouth till it bled, twisting and tangling her hands, trying desperately to land some blow to free her. After a few minutes of heated tussling, she managed to score a hit; he'd leaned back farther so as to get a better grip on her hands before undoing his fundoshi, unknowingly leaving himself wide open. She took the opportunity in a flash, kneeing him in the crotch for all she was worth.

But it wasn't enough. In fact, it only made it worse; now the bandit was angry too, and he decided to stop playing nice.

He bent over slightly, but never released his hold; the look in his eyes had her inner triumph squelched as fast as a grape in a mechanical juicer.

Moving his hands too quickly for her to react, his mouth crashed against hers before she had the chance to scream. His body pressed against her, hard, strong, and overwhelming; it was with barely concealed panic that she realized how aroused he was as well.

His tongue drove into her mouth, plundering and looting violently, evoking the almost irresistible urge to retch; the dirty hands roaming her body groped, prodded, pinched, pulled...she knew if she didn't throw up, she would scream, or faint, or all of the above under the nauseating assault. Closing her eyes didn't help in the least; it was her sense of touch that needed to be turned off.

Her eyes had just started to roll into the back of her head, her body going limp in defeat, when Inuyasha found them.

* * *

Cursing a streak blue enough to put most sailors to shame, Inuyasha exploded into the clearing, searching for the one who had dared to-

He stopped, stunned, at the sight that met his unsuspecting eyes.

Kagome, eyes closed, naked; a young, handsome, if somewhat dirty man pressed intimately against her, almost as bare as her, kissing her fiercely, touching her everywhere the hanyou could see, and some places he couldn't.

One fact, one part of the damning, scarring scene stood out above all the others.

Kagome wasn't resisting.

_So..._he thought, in a dazed, strange, yet lucid way. _This is the man...the other man...her man. Her goddamn bastard, __fucking__ son of a bitch_.

Then the moment of shock was over, and he _moved._

In a flash of red and silver, he tackled the bandit to the ground, pummeling him mercilessly, roaring his fury. His eyes misted red as the bandit fought back; he didn't care, he welcomed the loss of feeling his demon side would bring-perhaps then, he could properly rip this whelp to shreds-perhaps then, he could forget this pain, this sensation of his heart being pierced, yet again by that bitter arrow of betrayal...

Kagome came to a moment after she'd passed out; dazed, not remembering what had happened before Sango leaving the onsen, she focused on the familiar form of her hanyou..._but wait...he's...attacking someone?_

"Inuyasha?"

The voice brought him back to himself forcibly, slamming awareness down on the red that had overwhelmed his gaze. In the moment it took him to register the voice as hers, and understand it was his name, the bandit had twisted away, and escaped into the dark of the forest. Growling, torn between following and properly gutting the coward, or protecting her from another one, he was stayed by her light touch on his shoulder. It felt like a firebrand to his skin; the interrogation was coming, and it was coming now.

Twisting violently, he caught her wrist with his hand as he slowly rose, eyes intent on hers, burning her away; he mistook the confusion in her gaze for guilt.

"Was that him?"

"W-what do you mea-?" Kagome started, a little frightened by the anger rolling off of him, close to hysterics already.

"Was that the fucker you've 'done a lot of kissing' with?" His tone was soft, deadly, a rumble shaking her from her head to her toes. She still didn't understand.

"What are you talking about Inuyasha?" She asked, not a little repulsed at the idea of kissing the bandit on purpose.

He swore, luridly, then grabbed her chin, forcing her to look straight into his eyes as he ground out: "Stop lying bitch. I heard you talking to Sango earlier. Now answer me. _Was that him?"_

Bristling at the bitch comment, the very idea of being with the bandit, Inuyasha's forcible treatment of her, not to mention the idea that he'd been eavesdropping, Kagome let her anger speak for her. It didn't go over well.

"You were _listening_ to us while we _bathed_-" She was cut off by his explosion.

"Fuck that! Bitch, I want to know what assholes you've been kissing and I want to know if that bastard was one of them!"

Kagome gaped at him for a moment; then, eyes flashing, she reared back at him, poking a finger into his chest.

"Since when do you care? Since when have you ever cared? You don't own me Inuyasha, and you have no claim over me!"

"Wench! Just answer the fucking question! At least let me know who I'm losing you to!" Inuyasha roared back.

It was meant to hide how completely flabbergasted and frustrated the phrase 'since when do you care' had him; it had that effect, but another as well.

Kagome stared at him, shock writ large over her features; it was like all the wind had gone out of her in one long whooshing breath the instant she heard his last line.

"W-what do you mean, 'losing me to'?" she caught the sleeve of his haori, determination emerging, solid, palpable, set in stone upon her face, stilling his angry response. "Really Inuyasha? How long have you cared?" she asked softly, eyes wide with confusion and-was that a little hope?

Inuyasha glared at her; _Hell, is answering one question that hard?_ But decided to answer hers, ridiculous as it was, in hopes of being able to make her answer in turn.

"Wench...Dammit, I don't know ok? It's not like I kept track! And it's not like it matters now, does it? You've found someone-someone else-haven't you?"

Her eyes got wider; _is he actually telling the truth? Could he really-did he really-_

Inuyasha could only take so much waiting. He'd started the conversation with a simple question, _and do I have my answer yet?_ _Finally__? No_.

It was time to take evasive action.

"Kagome, if you don't tell me who they are this fucking second, I'm going to be forced to find out the hard way."

That got her attention. But not fast enough for Inuyasha's razor-thin control to hold. She had just managed to let out a startled "W-whaa?" before he moved.

Gripping her firmly by the shoulder with one hand, and her chin with the other, he tilted her face up, and cut off her words with a kiss that left her reeling. He determinedly swept the inside of her mouth with his tongue, searching out every nook and cranny, and stroking her own quite a bit in the process. Her shock had just melted away and she was beginning to enjoy the intrusion when he abruptly pulled out, gently, but implacably placed his hand on her other shoulder, and buried his face in the crook of her neck. Her surprise only increased when she realized that he was sniffing her; intent, eyes shut tight, ears laid back, focusing entirely on her scent.

He pulled away, even more confused than before. When he'd tasted her, all he could find was the grimy, sweaty tang of the bandit and her own sweet one, and when he'd smelled her, he couldn't even find the bandit's trace; what was going on?

"Kagome, who is he? I can't smell anyone but you, and I can't taste anything other than that other fucker; is he the only one?"

Kagome gasped, finally realizing his intentions; they cut like a knife.

"So you weren't kissing me after all! You don't even care, do you! You only want to know this stuff because you think this will distract me from hunting jewel shards!"

He furrowed his brows. "The hell?" he let out, disjointedly. "What are you talking about? The jewel shards have nothing to do with this! Just tell me if that sonovabitch was the only one!"

Kagome was confused; it didn't have to do with the jewel shards after all? But he didn't kiss her to kiss her, that was obvious...Stalling for time, she fumbled with a response.

"W-what do you mean, 'the only one'? What are you talking about?"

He stood, open-mouthed, eyes wide in disbelief. It only took a moment for him to recover however, and when he did..."The only one you've been kissing wench! You told Sango in the hotsprings that you had done a lot of kissing! Well, I want to know who the hell has been kissing you!"

Her eyes became slits as she again misinterpreted his vehemence. "Don't make it sound like they'd have to be crazy to do it..."

"They _would_ have to be crazy to do it! I stick to you like we're physically attached, and scare off every wuss that looks you the wrong way; more than that, my scent is all over you! The fuckers know I want you, even if you don't, and I'll be damned if I let them get away with making you think otherwise!"

"You, you- you want me, Inuyasha?" her voice had turned tremulous, her eyes wide.

His eyes held hers for a long time while he considered his options; he'd never said it outright, true, but it never occurred to him that she would be completely clueless to his feelings for her. _Well, surprise surprise...this day's only getting better, isn't it? First the damn onsen is too far away, then I hear she's been kissing someone else, maybe __chosen__ someone else, get to walk into the middle of one of them jumping her, can't get a straight answer out of her, and now she doesn't even realize that I cared in the first place? Well, there's no way I'm letting it stay this bad. First things first; get her to answer the stupid fucking question I've been asking all night._

"Tell me first wench, then I'll tell you; was that the only one?" His voice was low, soft, but very, very firm. It was not a voice to be deflected or distracted, ignored or denied. Compliance was the only option.

Shaking herself out of the hopeful daze that had fallen over her, she remembered what he was so incensed about.

Sporting an annoyed frown, she answered "Mou, I guess he was...Can't believe I lost my first kiss to someone like that!"

"Your...first kiss?"

She nodded, again too absorbed to notice him; his confusion emanated from every pore of his being, his hope from the twin dog ears cocked towards her, perked for a response.

"Yeah. I'm really glad you showed up...I thought he was going to, going to-" she cut herself off with a terrified look as her memories rushed back to her.

He couldn't believe his ears; _what the hell is going on_? "Didn't you _want_ him to-"

"No! Don't be disgusting! That jerk came out of nowhere, grabbed me out of the onsen and started- started-"

She felt the sobs coming back, held at bay while Inuyasha had questioned her; now she could suppress them no longer, and it was a rather panicked hanyou that now shuffled before her.

He knew he should comfort her..or something...but his own head was still reeling, trying to make sense of it all...And some things just didn't fit.

"Wait…But if you _didn't_ want him to, to do that, why were you just letting him-"

"I w-wasn't!" Angry sob. "I d-did fight, I swear, I just…I just…P-promise not to hate me for being so weak?" she raised fearful, if sincere eyes up to his; he nodded, despite his confusion.

"I, well, h-he was just so disgusting-I couldn't help it-I fainted…r-right before you came." Her voice cracked more than once, and when she finished-it was like she'd just died away, so pitiful was the sound.

He winced at her whimper, already berating himself for making her remember more of it all. Problem was, he couldn't let her off the hook yet; there were still things that needed clearing up.

"Oi," he tried to make his voice as gentle as he could. "You said that was your first kiss, but earlier you told Sango you'd done a lot of kissing-which one is it wench?"

Bleary-eyed, she squeaked a response. "T-the first. I l-lied to S-sango-chan."

"Why?"

"B-because I wished it was true..." Inuyasha noticed that talking it out actually seemed to be calming her; he kept at it.

"Why?"

A tad frustrated with his persistence, but too tired to keep up her usual indifferent facade, she settled for the truth, tempered by an annoyed glare. She didn't realize that, in doing so, she began to forget about the violent incident, frustrated with him rather than frightened by her memories.

"Because like _most_ people, Inuyasha, I want to be happy, and kissing someone you're in love with is pretty much the surest way to make that happen."

"So why don't you?" He kept it up; with every line the sadness receded more. Besides that, he was curious.

"Why don't I what?"

"Why don't you kiss the guy you're in love with?"

She gave him a long, appraising look. "What are you getting at? It's not like you kiss Kikyou that often."

He frowned. "Where the hell did that come from?"

She rolled her eyes, (no tears in sight, he was glad to see). "You asked why I don't kiss the guy I'm in love with; so I pointed out that you don't kiss the girl you're in love with that often either."

"Oi, that's not what you said!" _Damn,_ _she can't actually think I'm still in love with Kikyou, not after everything else, can she?_

"Yes it is! You're in love with Kikyou, but you don't kiss_ her_ that often!"

"What the fuck?! Who said I was in love with Kikyou?" _She does think that! Baka!_

"When weren't you!?" she retorted angrily.

"Right fucking now, for starters!" he couldn't help the growl that escaped him; she was the most infuriating girl he had ever met.

"Oh really? Then why don't you go kiss whatever girl you are in love with!"

That set him off like nothing else. Perhaps it was because of how long this entire encounter had taken; maybe it was the emotional roller coaster of the past hour; it could even have just been misplaced sexual frustration given the fact that she was nude, glorious, and someone else had been kissing her and he couldn't get rid of the taste of them in her mouth at all. For whatever reason, he exploded, and let it all out.

"Shit, I would, but the first time I tried she ran off, 'cause she wasn't ready, and _lately_ all I can expect from her is to slam my face in the dirt because she's so fucking _convinced_ that I'm still in love with a dead lump of clay that acts nothing like the real Kikyou! Add on top of that the last hour or so of me thinking she's been kissing other guys behind my back, I barge in on some fucker doing just that, and right now she's so busy being pissed at me she isn't even thinking straight!" he seethed, eyes narrowed.

"Is that enough of a fucking answer for you?!" he added after a pregnant pause while she stared, wide-eyed at him.

They stood like that for some time, his tense body and expression completely at odds with her slouching, shrunken ones. Inuyasha boiled, the turmoil of his mind roiling and spitting with frustration, fury, desire, bitterness, hope, fear, relief, concern, love... Kagome, body hunched over in an instinctive position to deflect attention while she flubbed for a response, floundered desperately to collect her thoughts, emotions, and then that tiny spark of courage left in the face of so many possible, so very feared outcomes. She was stunned by his confession, surprised at his vehemence, shocked at his meaning. Hope sprang upon her in its wake, survived the waves of insecurities, dragged her bravery out of its hidey-hole, set her on her feet, and let her be honest in turn. The experience exhilarated as much as it terrified.

"Y-you know...I don't think she'd mind it if you tried to kiss her right now." She licked her lips, nervous beyond all belief, not daring to hope-and yet...She missed the way his eyes strayed to her lips and quickly darting tongue.

"M-maybe...maybe she was just really scared the first time.

"Maybe she stuck up with you going after Kikyou and defending her so long and so much and she got hurt so many times over it, she was scared to let herself think you'd changed, scared of getting hurt again if you hadn't.

"Maybe she wished _so much_ that you did kiss her, did love her, she lied to her best friend because of it.

"Maybe she was so scared earlier when she was attacked, she verbally attacked you just because you were another guy and she didn't want to be in that position ever again, and she knows you could have her like that easily, even though she knows you'd never, ever hurt her."

She licked her lips again, and looked at him with as much sincerity as she could muster; he was already stuck dumb by her confession, though the look of her, so vulnerable, so innocent, so fragilely facing him, baring herself to him in so many ways...He didn't know what to say.

"Maybe...maybe she really, really, wants you to kiss her, she's just a scared little girl right now because of everything else-"

Fortunately for him, there was no need to say anything. As she spoke, she tilted her chin upwards, inched even closer to him, and more or less invited him to finally have his long-awaited wonder-filled first kiss with her.

Gently, he brought his head down to caress her soft lips with his own. Tenderly, and very aware of how naked she was, he brought his hands about her, one sifting through her damp hair, the other resting lightly against her trim waist. He guided her slowly closer to him, taking his time as he moved his lips against hers, until finally she pressed up firmly against him, her own arms wrapped around his neck. She graciously submitted as he tilted her head further down, and, finding his balancing point, they stayed like that for a long time. The kiss was sweet, long, and dizzying; Kagome felt like she'd been given a drawn out taste of ambrosia; Inuyasha felt like they were drifting in free fall, and when it broke it was the softest of landings, cradled by her glowing eyes and soft, quietly blissful smile.

"Is the girl I love still scared?" He asked softly, eyes never leaving hers.

Blushing she began to shake her head-but then a glint came into her eye he didn't know what to make of-at first. "Not really. However…She's already gotten a lot of rather terrible, traumatizing kissing tonight, and that just went to neutralizing the bad ones, so-"

Only to happy to comply, he bent his head to hers again. This time the kiss was less chaste and sweet, and more daring, exploratory, exhilarating. Sparks flew and it wasn't long before his tongue had entered her mouth again; but this dance, while lively, was still graceful and measured, rather than the full-on rush of his desperate search from minutes before. His hands caressed and offered tactile admiration to her form-nowhere too sensitive, but the intimacy involved in the long, smooth strokes along her back had her shuddering with pleasure all the same. She was quite firmly molded to him at this point, one of her own small, slender hands tangled in the mass of silver at the nape of his neck, the other arm wrapped around his back and hand clinging with surprising strength to his haori. The press of her soft flesh against his, even through the thick cloth, had him stifling moans; it was with great regret that he broke the embrace, pulling her even tighter into his arms, her head tucked resolutely under his chin as he tried to rein in his (currently rampaging-in-sheer-delight) hormones.

"Inuyasha?" Her breathy, husky voice sent shivers through him; he didn't trust his voice to respond.

He gave a non-committal sort of grunt; she understood that it meant he was listening.

"The bad kisses have finally balanced out now. She'd like permission to have the balance tipped in favor of good ones though..."

"Oi, wench, what are you up to?" he chuckled lightly at her forwardness, his voice lower than usual, (for whatever innocent reason).

"If you'd just help me out a little, I wouldn't have to admit to Sango that I was lying earlier."

He shook his head. "I never heard that. What you said was: 'because I want to be happy, and kisses from the man I love make me happy.' Right?"

She giggled, winking up at him. "Maybe..." He growled lightly at her, baring his teeth in mock-anger; laughing even more, she finally relented. "Fine, that's exactly what I said. Now will you make an honest woman of me?"

His eyebrows and ears shot straight up in surprise (and not a little dirty hope), but after a second of her confused gaze (_she doesn't really not realize what she said, does she?_ he thought in a daze) he managed a knowing, lascivious leer. "I'd be delighted..."

Kagome never did find out what had her hanyou smirking the rest of the night, but she didn't really mind. He'd made her an honest woman, hadn't he?

And that was more than enough for her.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks to phlawere, who deserves credit for sparking my own ideas with one very evocative line: I humbly thank thee for the use, extensive twisting, even more thorough elaboration upon, and assistance in improving it once my own poor fingers got tired and brain shut down under the horror known as a hanyou-level inferiority complex. As a show of my gratitude (which had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it tied in the entire pretense of the fic along with the title, not to mention my own tendencies) I submitted to your desire to keep the innuendo at the end.

Oh, and the dear phlawere has expressed interest in a sequel (hentai warning); if enough other people agree, I'll write one.

Hope you liked it.


	2. Sequel

**Dare to Love**

**A/N:** Hentai and serious fluff warnings. I'm serious. Grab the toothbrush and hold on as if your life depended on it.

* * *

It had been two weeks. Only two weeks, and her mind was still spinning, she still felt giddy with it all...

To think that he actually loved her, herself, for herself, and not Kikyou as she'd been blindly convinced of for so long...

To think she had the next twelve weeks free to spend _here_, with him…

She stifled a giggle, but was unable to hide the beaming smile that lit her features, nor the light that shone from her eyes. Her face hurt with all the smiling she'd been doing, but she didn't care. How could she? She was in love, hopelessly and madly in love, and he loved her back...sigh...How could she keep from smiling?

"Kagome, why do you look like that? Did Miroku make a pass at me with that accursed hand of his and miss or something?" Sango wondered at her friend's sunny demeanor.

She'd noticed the change in Kagome; it was hard not to, with the way she seemed to skip along the road, the way her eyes sparkled, her lips stretching like they knew no limits; she shone happiness like the sun shone with light. She could almost make herself believe the path they trod was lit by Kagome instead.

"No...I'm just in a really good mood, Sango-chan." Lovesick grin.

"You've been in a good mood for a while now...ever since last time we ran across an onsen," Sango watched her friend closely, and didn't miss the way she involuntarily shuddered at the reminder. "Something happened, didn't it." It wasn't a question.

"Well, yes..."

Sango grew perplexed at the suddenly downcast frown that cloaked Kagome's features.

"But I should probably start at the beginning..."

It didn't take much for the story to spill out of her; she'd been aching to tell Sango since it had happened, really. They were friends, good friends, and they'd made it their practice to share much with each other-especially this sort of thing. She felt guilty to have kept it to herself for so long.

But she had had her finals, brutal enough she'd managed to convince Inuyasha to let her stay on her side for a whole 12 days straight, studying and then taking the dreaded exams. She inwardly grinned at how she'd convinced the hanyou, feeling no guilt at all for promising to spend the rest of the summer with him, now that her finals were over and school was finished for the year. It didn't hurt that her mother had offered to cook for him, or that, every now and then, he'd slip some mojo through her walls of studious might, and they'd end up kissing on her bed for blissful minutes, slowly learning each other's lines and shape by touch, rather than sight...

She blushed at the memories, when they came to her. The way those calloused hands felt, tenderly cupping and stroking her curves...she'd never imagined feelings so...quenching and inflaming, all at once. They were exotic and delicious, fabulous and befuddling altogether in such a jumble, she hardly knew what to make of them even now.

Which was why she was explaining them to her dear confidant, in the hopes that together they might make some sense of it all. And that she could convince Sango to stop with her shy refusal of her fiancé's affections, and learn the pleasure that she herself brimmed with, so much she felt she might drown at times...

Inuyasha was drowning too, though in a rather different way.

* * *

Two weeks. Not that long, really. It was to be expected that they wouldn't have made much progress since then. Perfectly reasonable, really, that the most they'd managed was gentle touches and tender kisses. It was_ inevitable_, really. Nothing more to it than that.

Right?

Then why did he want her so much more than that. Why, were the Kami laughing at him, was this supposed to be some sick joke? To give him the love of such an angel, but then drive him mad with want for the rest of her?

_Two weeks_. _Only two fucking weeks_, he kept reminding himself. The words had become a mantra for him, to recite and repeat and wall his desires every time he felt his control cracking...and with the way things had been going, it wasn't going to take much to shatter it completely...

All it took was an innocent smile from her, and his libido twisted it into an inviting smirk, begging him for release. Whose he didn't know; and when instincts took over, he hardly cared.

Or maybe she might stand and stretch, tired and sore from traveling and sleeping on the hard ground, the sun lighting her curves, glinting in her hair, her mouth wide in a yawn, her pink tongue curling back...he couldn't help but wish she was tired and sore from lovemaking, instead.

Or worse yet, when she was remembering what little he had shown her of pleasure, and her arousal wafted and drifted about him, as enticing as her flushed face and alluring smile, all wrapping around him in a seductive whorl...

_Damn_. He was hard as a rock, again, just thinking about it.

_Two weeks!_ Two weeks, two weeks, two weeks...It didn't do any good. But his navy blue balls weren't the worst of it. He only wished they were...

What consumed him, what drove him mad was the fear, that slithering, seeping fear that maybe, maybe, she didn't want him as much as she said. No, he didn't think she'd lied to him. She'd kissed him like she meant it, she spoke like she meant it, she seemed happy with it all...and there again, the fear came and twisted her happiness, turned it on its head, set him to clenching his teeth and clamping his ears down, to try to not hear the whispers, not feel the poison of doubt spreading like ink, dark and staining, creeping...

But he couldn't avoid it by sealing his ears, couldn't escape the thoughts the cowardly part of him lobbed at him, one after another, endlessly.

_Sure_, they hissed. _Sure, she says she loves you. She thinks she does to. She seems happy enough. And maybe she does love something about you, maybe she does._

This was how it started, slyly trying to catch him off guard, to make him listen because they started it like that. And like a fool, he listened to the fears of his betrayed and battered heart.

_But so did Kikyou, didn't she. She loved something about you, somewhere in there was something she cared for enough to die for. But the rest? She could never trust her body to a hanyou, never trust something so impure..._

**Shut up!** **Kagome's not like that! I fucking know what Kikyou thought of my claws and my fangs and my ears-but Kagome's different. Didn't she say just last night how much she loves my ears? What do you make of that, bastard? Ha!**

He protested, vehemently.

_Oh, Kagome's more complicated, yes she said that, but did she mean it? Really? She thinks she loves you, yes, but you know she doesn't want you the same way. If she did, why would she have ended things so soon last night, any night?_

To no avail.

**She's not ready. It's only been two weeks, I don't expect her to need me like that now, isn't it enough that she says she loves me? Isn't it enough that she wants to kiss me, and me to kiss her, that she wants, likes, allows, enjoys my touch?**

He almost whimpered the words.

_But that isn't all you want. You want more, and if she loved all of you like you do her, wouldn't she want the same? But she doesn't, you know she doesn't. She's happy the way it is right now._

_Face it,_ the voices concluded.

_She might say she loves you, but she doesn't want to __make__ love to a hanyou any more than any other woman ever would._

He trembled, straining, trying to hold back the doubt with everything in him, but again and again he failed.

There was nothing for it. The only way he could beat it would be to know, really know what was going on in that fathomless beautiful head of hers.

He took the first opportunity he got.

* * *

_Isn't it ironic,_ she thought, _that just after finishing my story, we camped near an onsen?_ But no matter, she was not one to spurn fate by any means, especially when it had been so kind to her as of late. She fairly skipped on her way down the path, Sango smiling at her in a patient, bemused way, like an older sister with a precocious but still very much loved child.

She was glad for her friend, she truly was, but she couldn't help but feel somewhat down about it all...that Kagome should find such happiness was wonderful, but the reminder that she still couldn't work up the courage to try and gain some of her own shamed her like nothing else.

Throughout the bath Sango was quiet, ruminating on it all as Kagome babbled on, blissful in her ignorance of her friend's plight, so Sango thought.

"Sango-chan? Is something wrong? You've been very quiet..." But perhaps not so ignorant after all.

"It's nothing; don't worry about it Kagome-chan. I'm happy for you, really!" Somehow Kagome saw through the forced smile and faked cheerful tone.

"Oh, I never thought...you and Miroku-sama...and I've just been going on and on, haven't I? I'm so sorry, I didn't think, I'll stop at once!"

_I don't deserve a friend like this_, Sango thought, not for the first time. "Really, Kagome-chan, it's all right. You don't need to stop being happy because of me..." she paused at the confused look in Kagome's eyes.

"But how could I be happy, when you're not? Here, how about we figure out some way to fix that!" Kagome smiled encouragingly at her.

"Well...alright..." Sango conceded, wary of any solution so simple.

"So what's the problem? Is Houshi-sama still being a terrible lecher, making you nervous and so on?"

"No more than usual...it's just...oh, you wouldn't understand, but I'm just not the kind of girl that was always dreaming after boys; I'm different from you Kagome. I don't know a thing about love, and even less about love_making_-" Sango began to clench her fists, the old fears rising up, as they always did, in wave upon debilitating wave.

"And you think I do? Don't be silly Sango-chan, I've been scared stiff of Inuyasha for years, of going too far and suffering for it; I know what it's like. You know I was lying when I pretended I had experience. I understand." Kagome put a hand on her shoulder, her voice soft, offering comfort.

"Just because I've read and heard about things doesn't mean I was any more confident two weeks ago than you are now."

Sango smiled crookedly, her white-knuckles regaining some of their color as she relaxed a bit, her voice lighter, meant to tease. "And what about now, huh? Dare I ask what you and Inuyasha have been up to since then? Or is it something only Houshi-sama could guess at?"

Kagome blushed, looking away, embarrassed not by the ideas the comments provoked, but of her own weakness. The fact was, the slayer couldn't have been farther from the truth. And suddenly she felt the need to get her worries and doubts off of her chest; all in one urge she felt it, and who was she to disobey her heart when it wailed so insistently and piteously for relief?

"No," she answered softly. "We've done hardly anything, mostly because I'm still...I can't...I'm scared, I guess...I don't really know how to explain it; I love him, truly I do, I just...I'm a little coward. There's not much else to it..."

She closed her eyes, her expression distant; she looked inward now, though still she firmly faced the tajiya across the steaming water.

"It's not like I'm not old enough. I'm 18, for Kami's sake, I know people who have been doing this for years already! Even my old-fashioned Jii-chan wouldn't say that I was too young...no, that's definitely not the issue; I wish it was, it would be so much easier that way! But it's not, and I know it.

"It's not my family either; I know my mother would understand, she loves Inuyasha; my brother would cheer it on, he idolizes him; my grandfather...well, he might not like it at first, but he would much rather Inuyasha than pretty much any other boy I've met, I'm sure of it. It's just me that's the problem...

"I just don't know...don't know if he wants me like that, you know? And I don't want to lose this, what we have right now; it's wonderful, I've been dreaming of it for ages and ages...I don't want to do anything that might endanger it..." she trailed off, finally looking back at her friend.

"Bah, listen to me complain when I should be helping you instead! Sorry about that-"

"Don't be Kagome-chan. It...it's not that far off from how I feel either. I think we have the same problem, really." Sango comforted, wondering at the truth of the parallels in their problems. And searching for the solution.

"How about this: you love and want Inuyasha, but are scared to make the first move, and I'm the same way with Miroku, and it's really only hurting us to keep it bottled up; we'll make a pact, right here, right now, to either get some guts and do _something_, or explain it to the boys, and no more trips to the onsen till we've done it. Sound good?"

Kagome grinned, playfully; hope had a way of doing that, of changing doubt into determination. "Deal. And as I was thinking of taking a bath tomorrow morning before we left, we'd better get to it!"

Laughing, teasing, they clambered from the spring, dressed, and set off in search of their respective male bull's eyes. Poor boys didn't know what was coming to them.

* * *

As soon as they left for the onsen, he started planning. _I have to get her alone, that's damn obvious, but how? On her side it wasn't that hard, she was spending all her time alone with me, studying (for the most part)-_smirk_-in her room, no one bothered us there...But like hell can we go there now, everyone would be suspicious, it's too damn far away, and there's no fucking way I can stand waiting even another day._ His mind ran in similar circles for a good while as he lounged in his customary perch, up a tree, till he came to some conclusions. (Never mind how long it took).

1 Everyone was going to be suspicious anyway if he and Kagome disappeared for any length of time  
2 Kagome had probably blabbed it all to the slayer by now anyway, damn women with their talking about everything thing  
3 The branch he was lying on was going to break if he didn't stop clawing it, and that wasn't going to happen till this was solved and his hands could be occupied with other activities. (Preferably involving either chopsticks holding noodles or delicious feminine scented flesh and hair.)

So, for the sake of innocent vegetation, Inuyasha left in search of his own bull's eye, though he was floods more desperate and earthquakes more apprehensive than his prey.

* * *

Inuyasha lay in wait along the path, hidden from the view of those humble things he politely called ground-suckers by the thick screen of foliage below him. He tilted his head, listening intently, ears cocked, straining for the slightest advantage over his prey. He scented the air, caught the faint, unmistakable aroma the wind brought, and broke into what could only be called the tiger's most terrifying grin. The predator in him knew his hunt would be successful.

_She is approaching, and quickly for her.__  
__  
__  
__It will not be long now.__  
_

* * *

Kagome was trotting along the path back to camp, only a few feet behind Sango, innocent as you please.

(Well, as innocent as a woman plotting in the battlefield of love can be.)

Her relative innocence aside, she still played the part of the unsuspecting lamb to perfection as it was carried off by the desperate wolf. Sango heard a startled gasp-almost a bleat-caught a glimpse of leaping red in her peripheral vision-and then Kagome was gone.

Smiling and laughing a little at her friend's utter failure as a huntress, despite all her resolutions to the contrary, Sango shook her head and continued on her own quest.

And even if she failed as much, the least she could do would be to keep Houshi-sama busy so the other couple could have some privacy.

* * *

Alone, save for one snoring kitsune and napping nekomata, Miroku indulged in some day dreams...it wasn't like he was going to get any relief the normal way, after all...

He was just finishing with one fantasy (mentally smiling and moving long, dark, unbound hair out of the eyes of a contentedly dreaming slayer) when another sprung upon him, unplanned.

He noticed with a bemused smile that this dream had the same background as his reality's setting_...strange, I'm usually more creative..._but no matter, here was the lovely woman, coming to him as she did in every fantasy: beautiful. Her skin glowed in the firelight and her eyes shone with that special tint of red he'd never seen in any other woman's, a shy smile gracing her lips...

"Houshi-sama..." she murmured, standing before him now, tentatively, shifting from foot to foot as if unsure of where she should sit, or sit at all, or whether she should remain standing for the eternity.

"Sango...sit, why don't you." She blushed and did as he asked; he wondered if it _was_ the reality, as she never was so shy in his fantasies; _but she´s sitting closer than she would have normally, I'm sure of it;_ and happily he returned to his conviction that this was naught but a delight for his poor deprived mind.

He reached out and took her hand, rubbing slow circles on the back of it with his thumb. "How are you, koi?"

She gasped at the endearment. "You're not serious, are you?"

He frowned, confused, almost dropping her hand. Almost. He realized, finally, that this wasn't a fantasy, but his reality.But still he continued-she was his fiancé, after all. _And it's not like I didn't mean it...__  
_

"Of course I am. You know how I feel, don't you?"

"I thought...I hoped..." she blushed very prettily. But surprised all the same.

"For Buddha's sake, I asked you to marry me, to bear my children!" he exclaimed, further put off by her lack of faith in him. "Doesn't that mean anything?"

She gave him a dry look. "Houshi-sama, you admitted yourself you ask every woman you meet that. Are you trying to say you feel about me as much as you feel about them?"

_Oh Buddha... That wasn't what I meant, not at all...This requires much delicacy. _"I never asked them to marry me," he pointed out. "And I never stayed with one more than a few days. More than that, you have to understand that while I might have used similar words with many other women, it doesn't change the fact that when I say them to you, to _Sango_, they mean something else.

"You do realize that, don't you?" he asked after a pause, feeling a little desperate with her expression so stony, so unchanging.

Instantly she was contrite, her eyes lowered in shame. _This wasn't what I came here to do at all..._she reminded herself._ I've already discussed this with him so much, I know how he feels...and besides, I made a pact, and by Kami I'll stick by it!_

"I know Houshi-sama, I understand...I guess it just still hurts, to think of you with all those other women, to know that I'll never measure up-"

"Is that what's been bothering you? Is that why you won't even let me kiss you, for all we're to be wed?" he asked, finally understanding.

"Yes, more or less..."

He laughed, full of relief to know it was such a silly thing, such a simple thing; long he had wondered, long he had suspected it had to do with the pain she still harbored for the fate of her brother, worried that he could never make her let go of her suffering and be happy with him. This was nothing in comparison with his fears, nothing at all.

Her response was to give him a mild, recriminating glare, put out at his mirth. "It's not funny Houshi-sama. I really know nothing about this at all, and you know so much; I'm bound to disappoint you-" he stopped her with a finger to her lips.

"Don't talk nonsense Sango. I might know how to have sex, but that doesn't mean I know how to make love; this is new for the both of us, and there's no way you could ever disappoint me any more than I could disappoint you."

His eyes were kind, understanding, loving; she felt if she leaned forward too far she'd fall in and never come out again. She licked her lips, unconsciously, caught in a daze by his gaze, so striking, so deep...she tilted towards him, not noticing, unable to stop herself...

"Sango? What are you-"

He stopped speaking as she finally looked at him, but only after her face came within a hair's breadth of his own.

"I'm doing something I should have done a long, long time ago Housi-sama...Miroku...I know I know nothing of it, so please tell me if I'm doing something wrong."

With that cryptic warning still hanging in the air, confounding him almost as much as her very presence did, she pounced, not waiting for her courage to run out. He closed his eyes in acceptance, still wondering if it wasn't a dream after all.

With an odd, but not unattractive mix of aggression and hesitancy, Sango kissed him. At first she leapt upon him, frantic to _do something_ before her resolve wore thin and her fears won out. Before Miroku knew it, he was on the ground, Sango hovering over him almost anxiously, torn between renewing contact with his lips and apologizing and backing off completely. Before he had time to act himself, she struck again, desire winning out. Her sweet lips fell upon his, pressed hard against them, almost desperate. Then, just as abruptly, she pulled back, an adorable frown creasing her forehead as she watched for some sign from him, any sign to tell her what to do next.

"Sango...don't be so scared, you know? Remember, I _want_ to kiss you-" He managed to gasp out, still recovering his breath after she'd tackled him like that.

She flushed prettily, and tried again. Slowly she lowered herself, just brushing her lips against his, a sweet torture he suffered through willingly; she was still nervous, but every moment her confidence grew, and shortly his patience paid off in spades. Finally gathering the nerve, she let her lips rest against his, and tentatively, o so tentatively, parted her own, and poked his with her shy little tongue. Only happy to comply, he allowed her entry, remained passive while she explored the crevices and crannies of his mouth with that same, shy, but earnest, darling little tongue.

After a mini-eternity of painful bliss, receiving but never giving in turn, she pulled back, her countenance flushed, her eyes dark, waiting for his verdict, as it were. It took a moment to come; he was still flustered by the wonderful dreaminess of it all, how different it had been from every other kiss, how completely, entirely different...Funny, that he was at a loss for words just now when he wanted to use them most.

"You kiss like a goddess, Sango my dear. You kiss like a goddess..."

It was the best he could manage, and didn't come close to describing it at all-but somehow that didn't matter, with Sango beaming at him like that, like her happiness couldn't be described in words any more than his own.

Pleased at the thought, he gently brought her down to his level, so that they could share some more of that happiness-that happiness that could not be shared with words.

* * *

"Inuyasha! What's going on? Where are we going? You can't just carry me off like some carton of Ramen!-"

He ignored her protests, instead focusing on not dropping the squirming girl as he slalomed his way through the maze of branches and twigs of the forest, searching for a-_aha! Took damn long enough!_

Before she knew it, she'd been dumped on the ground in a clearing, Inuyasha standing ominously before her, hands buried in his ample sleeves as he was so wont, especially when he was trying to hide his emotions...

"The truth. Now. Do you want me, or don't you?" he barely got the words out, his teeth were grinding together so forcibly.

"What? What are you talking about Inuyasha? Of course I want you-I love you, you know that!" she babbled it, hardly knowing what she said, his flat expression and even plainer tone had frightened her so.

It seemed she wasn't going to make it easy for him. _Shit. _It was hard enough already, saying this, battling down the fear that was roaring in his ears, the fear that the answer might be no...He could not wait any longer to know. If he tried, he would lose to the fears completely, this would never be resolved; he'd never know how she really felt..._No. _He refused to let that happen, with every fiber of his strength he would prevent it.

That didn't mean it was going to be easy, and sure as hell didn't mean he could be patient about it.

"Listen bitch, and listen well. I need to know how you feel about me, really-and don't fucking say you love me again!"

She had been, up till this point in time, sitting rather awkwardly on the ground in front of him, just as he'd dropped her. But after what he'd just said...She was all at once on her feet, in his face, her eyes snapping with rage.

"And what exactly do you want me to say, huh? You say you want me to tell you how I feel, the truth-and then you tell me not to tell you the truth! What do you expect me to do, you, you, you baka!"

"The hell?! When did I say not to tell the truth-" _That's the entire fucking point!_

"You _said_ I shouldn't tell you I loved you-and kami knows why but I still do, even when you treat me like this-how else should I understand it? I have no idea what you're saying Inuyasha, so don't you dare get mad at me for not answering your questions well enough! It's your own fault I have no idea what you want to hear!"

"You stupid...you don't have a clue, do you? Well I guess that's answer enough..."

He turned away, disgusted with himself for hoping, hoping that she might be different enough to still want him, no matter that the rest of the world thought him a monster, a crime against nature...The entire fight he couldn't help but notice how she looked, how vulnerable and precious she was as she had sat at his feet, befuddled by his actions, and how insanely attractive, no, _amazing_ she was while angry, with her cheeks flushed and hair slightly mussed, her eyes flaming, like some goddess, full of righteous fury...

Even while his patience and resolve, even his hope was painfully stripped away, he couldn't stop loving every inch of her, and wanting it just as much. But he had seen her eyes, seen the way she looked at him; and, more than that, the way she was so completely at a loss to understand; such thoughts were the farthest things from her mind, that much was clear.

He knew then. He knew. Somehow, even up to the last second, he had been hoping, hoping so much-

But no. His feelings weren't reciprocated, not by a long shot.

He didn't know what affection she might harbor for him, but it wasn't even a shadow of what he burned with for her...maybe if he was lucky, he could just slip away, escape from the torment-

"Inuyasha! What on earth do you think you're doing-how dare you act like I've already given you an answer!"

More furious than ever, she stalked forward and caught him by the shoulder even as he started to walk away. Her long list of insults and grievances were shunted aside like nothing at all when he whipped around, pinning her against the nearest tree, holding her firmly at arm's length.

It wasn't his actions that had shut her up though; no, it was the intense look in his eyes: they burned with some inner bonfire she couldn't fathom, consumed with desperation and anger and love and lust and a pain, a suffering so powerful...it was all she could do to not faint, to not wither away, like anyone else who had dared come too close to the sun; and she had come too close by far to two suns, and still they seared her, their fires never quenched.

"Bitch...you think I can't tell, from the way you look at me, how you think of me? You think I can't tell, when _you_ don't even have a clue what I mean when I say 'want' and I'm on the edge of losing myself _I_ want you so much?"

Still confusion clouded her gaze and now mixed with desperation, a reaction to his own obvious strife. "When have I ever looked at you badly, Inuyasha? I don't...I don't understand..."

He barked a laugh at her utter ignorance of his plight, looking down at the ground for a moment. "I know you don't look at me badly Kagome; that's not what I meant. It's that you don't look at me the way I look at you." he swung his gaze back up, immobilizing her with it more effectively than his own hands.

She was even more confused than before, and frustrated with it now. "Inuyasha, if you don't start speaking plainly and tell me exactly what you mean-"

He closed his eyes, in an attempt to get enough control to let go of her. It didn't make a difference though, couldn't hide it from his instincts that she was so close, that no one else was around..._and she's damn oblivious to everything. No more. I can't take much more of this shit._

"This is what I mean when I talk about how I look at you."

He opened his eyes, took the risk of losing it completely, and drank in every bit of her he could see. He started with her own gaze, then let his eyes wander where they wished; first they glided along her dark hair, gleaming in the moonlight; next they traced the shell of her ear, the sensitive skin just below it; from there they worked their way along her elegant jaw line, her chin, resting on those rosy lips, moist, slightly parted in confusion; he pored over the rest of her face with an uncharacteristic attention to detail; he wanted her to know, see, understand just how much he admired every bit of her. Then came her pretty neck, then her collarbone and shoulders, arms and hands and long fingers...and finally her curves, so ample for her youth. He made sure she noticed how he lingered on her breasts, her waist, her legs, every asset receiving special attention. Finally satisfied, he looked back up into her shocked, embarrassed, but finally comprehending face.

"Well? Do you finally have a goddamn clue how much it's taking me to not screw you senseless this second? I fucking love you Kagome-all of you, your soul and your spirit and your heart _and _your body... But it doesn't take an idiot to tell that it's different with you."

Finally he was able to let go of her, to look away. Her realization, and the silence that came with it were more than enough to douse the flames raging in his groin. It was clear he'd been right.

He continued, more to himself than her, his bangs falling in front of his eyes as he focused on his bare hanyou feet.

"I don't know what the hell I was thinking, hoping you did...It's not your fault, it makes sense that you wouldn't want someone with claws touching you-especially _there_-, someone with fangs nibbling at you anywhere-a hanyou making love to you...It's ok, really. I was just being a fucking idiot. Just...forget this happened, ok? Let's not talk about it-"

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare end it like that!" she yelled, livid, with what she wasn't sure. There were so many options: hurt that he'd doubt her like that, shame that she'd been so clueless to his feelings, fear that this might be the end, overwhelming love that he should care so much, anger at almost everything, her failures and his own. Anger won out; it was ever the safest shield, after all.

Furious, she swiftly strode away from the tree, grabbed him by the shoulder yet again, tried to swing him around to face her-he wouldn't budge, face still glued to the ground. The blood pounding in her ears, she twisted around till she was facing him, grabbed his chin, pulled down on his face for all she was worth, and more or less attacked his lips with her own.

For a second, he relaxed. He automatically leaned towards her, moved his lips against her own, responding as he should. But it was not to last. After a moment, he stiffened again, and, with a monumental effort on his part, pulled away, a bitter smile marring his lips.

"Keh. Don't you damn well see? Even then, you didn't dare use your tongue," he paused, looking away, and added, his tone dripping with self-disgust: "I don't blame you; you'd probably cut it on my fangs, wouldn't you? No matter how hard I fucking tried to keep them out of your way..."

He was mildly surprised when she buried her face in his chest, and he got the impression from the muffled sounds that she was screaming in frustration.

He made his own rough attempt to quiet her. "Kagome, I know you care about me, which is more than I ever damn deserved or expected; don't beat yourself up over what you can't change-"

"You baka!" Her head popped back up; judging by her spotty complexion he'd been right about the screaming, but the expression finally clued him in that he might have misjudged why. (Started to anyway. He always was rather hopeless at knowing what she was thinking...)

"Stop it! Stop it right now! By Kami-sama, if you say one more word about how it's not my fault that I haven't made a pass at you, I'll, I'll, I'll slap you and give you a blow job myself!"

He just stared at her, this strange, wonderful, but endlessly confusing creature yelling at him in such a rage. He didn't know whether to be bemused at her vehemence, happy to have her pressed up against him like she was (mindful that it probably wasn't going to happen all that often from now on), angry at her for dragging it out so much, or...wait, what did she say?

"...the hell? What's a blow job?" he asked, not sure he wanted to know. _Probably some form of stupid torture or painful death from her time...but then why the hell is she blushing so much?_

She was embarrassed, but answered him all the same. She'd made a pact to make a move after all. And if it got him stop spouting nonsense like before...Somehow she found the courage to squeak out the words. (Some words at any rate. _She_ was always rather hopeless when it came to _this_ sort of thing...)

"A b-blow job is...umm...mou, how do I explain this?"

He sighed. "I think I already know."

She gasped, surprised. "You...do?"

"It's from your time, right?"

"Well, the name is...I think it's pretty old though..." she hesitantly replied.

He looked surprised. "Then why didn't you just call it whatever they call it now? It's not like the name changes the fact that it's some stupid human form of torture."

"Ummm...Inuyasha?"

"Yeah? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's not a form of torture. Well," she amended, giggling a little. "Not usually. I wouldn't exactly know though," she giggled more at his confused, furrowed brow. "Seeing as I've never actually given one." More nervous laughter.

"Huh? What the hell is it then?"

Suddenly she got that playful glint in her eyes again. Being pressed up to him like this, with his arms (without his knowledge or permission of course) draped around her so possessively put her in a more daring frame of mind. All right, the truth: she was having a hard time keeping her mind on track without her anger to focus on, the feel of him was so...distracting...

"Maybe if you're a really, really good hanyou I'll show you..."

He raised an eyebrow. _What is the bitch thinking? _"You still haven't explained why you didn't just call it whatever it is now."

"Well, honestly, I don't know what they call it now..." she was having a harder and harder time thinking about what he was saying, rather than the subject itself..._I've never actually seen him, after all, even after all those times I had the chance but chickened out, and I can't help but be a little bit curious-_

"Then just damn tell me what the hell it is!" he was getting worried; either he was imagining it or by her scent she was getting more distracted than he was by their position, and there was no telling what having an aroused Kagome plastered all over him would do to him; already he could feel his blood gleefully heading south-

"You know...I have absolutely no idea how to explain it. So I think I'll show you." The glint was stronger than ever, and the desire pouring off her had him harder than Tessaiga in a second; and before he knew it the torture was over, she was pulling away, out of his embrace, down-

_Why the hell is she crouching __down__-  
_

"Bitch, what do you damn think you're doing with my hakama-?!"

She was standing and hushing him with a steaming kiss so fast he failed to notice when she loosened the ties of his hakama. The tongue she sensuously probed into his mouth was rather distracting too...

She was in a haze of want, of need for him, but still managed enough lucidity to remember his words the last time she kissed him. She made a point in going for each of his fangs with her tongue, tracing them delicately, teasing and daring and taunting till she couldn't hide her smug smirk at his groans. Even as she did it she was gently easing his hakama down, (somehow unsurprised he wore no fundoshi), using the contact as much as a distraction as to prove her point. Her point being:

"And you thought I shouldn't use my tongue because of your fangs...baka..." she murmured it in a husky whisper that almost made up for the loss of her lips.

Blinking in a trance of heady pleasure from her touch, kiss, voice, and scent, he hardly noticed that she was crouching down again, that the more important bits of him were now bare to her (uncharacteristically) hungry gaze, that she was opening her mouth, that she was leaning forward-

"Fuck..." He groaned it, unable to say anything more.

Grinning, she gave him another long, slow, wet lick, from the base of his shaft all the way to the tip, where she started to nibble delicately...

Till he shoved her away, backed away himself with panic in his eyes, just enough panic to beat down the lust.

"W-what the hell do you fucking think you're doing wench?! You-you-"

He was pressed up against the same tree he'd pinned her too, only moments before; Kagome wasn't in the mood to comment on such ironies though.

"I'm trying to show you that you're wrong, baka! I do love you, every bit of you! How dare you doubt me like that-how dare you think I'm a liar, even now, when I make it so obvious-!"

He scrunched his eyes shut as much as possible, trying to shut out the part of him bombarding his resolve with such delicate suggestions as: _Your bitch wants you, so fuck her! Now!_ It didn't work very well; trying to hide by closing your eyes tends to stop having an effect after the age of five, after all. Not that he couldn't pass for one at times. Like these. (Well, the massive erection not so much-but the stubbornness, the sheer idiocy of it all, that was one for the parenting books.)

"You're lying to yourself, Kagome! You're just doing it because I brought it up, because you think you should-you didn't act like this for a fucking second before I said something about it!"

She gasped, her mouth huge, unable to say a word for her ire. Momentarily.

"What do I have to do, Inuyasha? What do you want me to do! Tell me! I don't have a clue what you really want-you said you want me, huh? Then why are you running away from me! Because I acted like I wanted you? Is that it? That makes no sense, and you know it! You stop lying to me-the only thing that explains why you're over there is that you were the one that lied, you were the one that didn't want me!-" She nearly screamed when she found her voice.

But it wasn't the volume that made Inuyasha explode. Oh no...that would be far too simple. It can be said, however, that the extra pain inflicted to his ears did not help his mood.

Snarling, he forgot his panic at once, stalking forward with terrifying intent, eyes focused on _her._

"You bitch! Don't _you_ dare fucking doubt _me_! Do you not have fucking eyes? Look at me!" he gestured openly to his throbbing sword, standing at attention all the more (_damn the way she looks when she's pissed_). "Stop twisting my words wench. I've got all the proof I need and more some. You've got shit. Exactly how the hell do you see me being the one lying here?"

Now he loomed over her, looking down with an anger she'd never been on the receiving end of-it sent shivers down her spine, and for a brief moment she felt some sympathy for his foes, no matter how despicable. Her strength, her fervor had just melted away; all she felt now was a profound sadness, weighing her down, making her weak and tired. She gave up the screaming, and settled for a quiet reply, so he had to strain to hear her above the ringing in his own ears.

"None of this makes sense to me Inuyasha. None of it. I don't know what you want. You look like you want me, but you act like you can't let yourself touch me. You act like..." she paused, and the realization brought such hurt and pain sweeping across her face; he wanted to kill whoever had doused her fire-even knowing it was him.

"You act like I'm Kikyou, Inuyasha. You act like you think you'll have to become human for it to be ok for me to touch you. You act like you feel guilty, that you've corrupted me somehow if you've made me love you-and want you-just as you are," she looked up at him with such depth in her gaze, such fathomless depths, a trace of water accumulating in them, but none of her customary bursts of tears...he had no idea what she was thinking, but her words pained him so much he almost didn't notice.

Because, the fact was, she was right. He was acting like she was Kikyou-or, rather, any other human female. Hadn't he even thought that? Those words, almost exactly? _Shit. What the hell is wrong with me? I fucking know how different she is-and even if she hasn't acted like she wanted me till now, shouldn't I give her a chance? _

_Fuck you_, he said to the fear. _Now how the hell am I going to give it to her?_ he wondered, at a loss. _By now she's probably given up on me trusting her completely-_

"Well, you're wrong Inuyasha. How many times do I need to tell you? I'm not Kikyou. I love you. I love you as you are," she fell to her knees, looking down, "and if you'd just give me a chance, I could show you how mutual our feelings really are," she looked up again, clinging to his robes with a desperation and fear he abhorred in her on sight, "you have to give me this chance, please! I'm begging you Inuyasha, I need you, I, I-"

"Stop it-stop begging. I hate it. You should never-you should never beg me for anything. _Ever._ You got that?" he growled, grabbing her hands, making them release their death grips with a gentle, firm squeeze. He didn't let go of them.

"Inuyasha, I'll beg you as long as it takes if you make me-"

"Don't you understand? I get it, ok? You don't need to beg. I was being a jackass. Again. I'm the one who should be begging you to forgive me for all the shit I've put you through tonight. I just-it's just been driving me crazy, wanting you so much, having you act like you didn't; I had to know, you know? I'm-I'm sorry Kagome." He fell to his own knees, bringing their clasped hands in between them.

"Does this mean-you-you believe me? You'll give me a chance to prove it to you?" she hardly dared to hope it wasn't a dream; she could count the number of times Inuyasha had apologized to her on one hand.

He gifted her with a crooked smile; he could see the light finally coming back into her expression. "Keh. Past two weeks I've had more blue balls than I've had in the past two months. Till now I thought I'd never beat that damn record. You want to prove you want me, go right ahead..." his leer was worthy of Miroku.

"I mean, if you've forgiven me of course!" he hastily added, blushing fiercely at his presumptuousness, now more like a schoolboy caught playing hookey.

She smiled back, and he didn't need his other head's input to recognize a sexy little smirk when he saw it. Though his libido did have some rather interesting suggestions about what their hands should really be occupied with...relieving it, for one...

"I don't know..." she started; his heart skipped a beat. "I think I'll just let you figure it out for yourself..."she purred.

Gently she pulled her hands from his, and paused for a moment, as if considering her options. Her gaze strayed back to him, and he couldn't help but notice how long it rested on his still exposed cock. _She can't be thinking to-_

She was. He tried to stifle a moan as one of those long fingers stroked his shaft. She giggled at his expression, contorted as it was.

"Earlier I was about to give you a blow job, and you seemed to like it before you jumped away...Is that ok?" That face. So adorably earnest, so sincere, so vulnerable, so.._.how the hell does she have that face while she talks about that?! Damn, I'll never understand her, but I can't pretend I don't love her for it..._

"You serious? And here I thought that was some extra punishment..." was the first thing that popped out of his mouth. Next time he got it right though.

"Hell yes." He smirked, then added "Just wait a second-don't want to be covered in dirt later, right?"

He grinned at the way she ogled him as he took off his haori and spread it on the ground-imagine how she would look at him without the kosode either!-then lay back, finally giving her chance to prove the sincerity of her love and acceptance-through that of her desire.

She did not disappoint.

She crawled forward on her hands and knees, crouched over him, took her time lowering her mouth to his, her body to his...the kiss was slow and sensual, skin on fire everywhere they touched, tongues dancing languidly, tasting each other fully, even as she gently ran a finger along his throbbing length, timidly took him in her hand, hesitantly squeezed...he couldn't muffle the groan this time.

She lay on him like that for a delicious eternity, kissing luxuriously while he showed her how to pump and squeeze, where he was most sensitive, all the while trying to beat back the building pressure, the tightness coiling, ever coiling...Finally she gave him a last kiss on the corner of his mouth, finally having worked up her nerve enough, and she pulled away, crawled down his form, to replace her hand with her mouth.

"Kagome..." his voice was a ragged gasp.

She pulled away to look at him, startled; _did I do something wrong?_ then, with more panic: _have I just lost my chance to prove myself?!_ Blushing furiously, she whispered: "I'm sorry! Just, just please let me try something else, I've never done this before, I didn't know-"

He just managed to cut her off her hysterics. "Baka. Only thing you did wrong was to stop!"

"Oh...sorry.." she murmured it, looking away in her embarrassment. _Mou, I'm so clueless about all of this, I can't tell if he's moaning in pleasure or pain! Maybe I should just give up..._

"Oi, what's with that face?" Where did the scent of unshed tears come from? It was driving him crazy!

"I just...I'm just so hopeless at all of this, you know? Inuyasha, you're the only guy I've ever really, well, wanted-I've never done any of this before," she laughed bitterly "I didn't even know how to kiss two weeks ago! 18 and she'd never kissed a boy before! It's pathetic! Most girls my age aren't even virgins anymore! But here I am and I can't even tell if you like what I'm doing or are just humoring me-worse than that, I was _convinced_ I'd done something wrong! Inuyasha, I'm sorry."

She looked back up at him, and his heart twisted at the sight of the tears staining her cheeks.

"I'm really sorry. I love you, I want you, I do! I swear by every Kami that lives I do! But I don't have the-well-the courage-to show you. Maybe you should just find someone else less stupid or inexperienced than me-"

"Do you want to me to see you-all of you-bare?"

Caught by surprise, she answered instinctively. "Y-yes..."

"Do you want me to touch you?"

"Yes..." she moaned.

"Do you want me to make love to you?"

"Yes...so much it hurts..." She hardly recognized her own voice, so husky, so aching...and yet it was so true.

He smirked. "Then that's all you need." His face twisted into a scowl. "I don't want anyone else Kagome, and if you so much as fucking hint I try finding someone else ever again, I'll, I'll...I don't know what I'll do...nailing you so hard you can't walk the next day is tempting, but I just want to do that anyway..." the smirk was back in full force. She always was so cute when she blushed, and right now her face could match his haori.

"Besides, you never fully explained what a blow job was...I'm interested-"

She giggled at his antics, then dove down, and it was as if she had never stopped. His claws dug into the fire-rat hide, barely restraining the urge to thrust into the wet heat, reminding himself it was her mouth, (the tongue swirling around his tip felt good enough it did nothing to help his argument)...and then she started to suck...and he lost it completely.

Moaning her name, he pushed himself into her mouth as far as he could go, managed to pierce even the armor of his haori with his claws, every second the spring within him coiling tighter and tighter...He just had the presence of mind to gesture at her to stop-though she ignored the warning-before he came, stronger than he ever had before, his entire body save his heels and head lifting off the ground with the force of his orgasm.

The stars lit behind his eyelids, blasts of color and splashes of light, violent and beautiful and mesmerizing…_kind of like the girl who brought them_...he mused as he experienced it all.

Finally coming back down after long moments of mind-blowing pleasure, he opened his eyes. Kagome was sitting up on his legs, smiling a little despite the bitter taste in her mouth, waiting for him to look at her. Catching his gaze, she shyly started pulling off her shirt. She did it slowly, an inch at a time, watching his face while biting her lip with nervousness, hoping she was doing it right. All he could do was stare, transfixed...He'd seen her naked before true, but those had been glimpses, or he'd been trying to hide it, or, like two weeks ago, he'd been so pissed he'd hardly noticed. Now...he gulped. _How does she do this to me?_ was his only coherent thought.

The thought was quickly stripped away when she pulled off the skirt, standing up and stretching to do so. The moonlight put all of her muscles and curves in high relief for him, and when she finally slipped off her under things and bared it all...his erection was back, full force.

There she stood, so close, so very close...(not close enough.) Her hair gleaming silver in the moonlight, her eyes shining, crinkling a little with her nervous smile, her cheeks stained pink as she blushed under his scrutiny...(he wished it was a flush of desire). The moon dancing along her delicate neck, shoulders, collarbone, cresting over her pale full breasts, crowning the dusky tips in silver, accenting the smooth, flatter planes of her stomach, her small waist...(all too far from his touch). The light coasted over the swell of her hips, hinted at the dark valley of her sex, ran down her long, slim legs...(he wanted them wide on either side of him).

"Well...?" she prompted, hesitantly.

He groaned, looking away. "Kagome...you...do you have any idea what you do to me?"

"So you...don't think I'm ugly after all? You always said-" She was worried; _why is he looking away?_

"I know what I said. Just like I used to say you smelled disgusting." He sighed, looking back up at her, keeping his gaze firmly on her face. He winced, realizing how insecure he'd made her with his own attempts to keep himself in control. "What do you want me to say, Kagome? That you're beautiful? Gorgeous? Stunning? 'Cause you're not." Her face, so hopeful, fell with a splat off the cliff.

He rushed to catch her, getting up and clasping her hands, gripping her chin and bringing it up so she would look into his eyes while he finished.

"I don't know any words that fit you, Kagome. All I can tell you is that thinking that you've chosen me, when you could have almost anyone else if you wanted to-fuck, I can't explain how that makes me feel, I just-I just-Damn, I suck with words, can't I just show you?"

She flushed prettily, finally understanding, and nodded, slowly. He dove into the kiss passionately, but made himself hold her like some gem, something made of the finest crystal; he was trying to show how he felt about her with every centimeter of skin he touched. That she was precious, delicate, to be protected-he tried to convey with his gentle, protective hold, his arms wrapped around her, his hands resting lightly on her waist and shoulder. That he wanted _her_, that she was the _only_ one he would ever want, ever need-came from the heated contact between their lips. That she was more beautiful to him than he could ever explain, came from the way he watched her throughout, a look of wonder in his eyes.

Finally he pulled away, smug at the dazed, blissful look she gave him. The happy flush and desire-darkened eyes weren't all that bad either...And he was reminded rather forcibly that she was naked, waiting for his next move as it were...

"Well? Will you let me make love to you now?"

It was like his words had flipped some switch inside of her-and not the one he was hoping for either. She bit her lip, looked away, unconsciously covered herself with her crossed arms. He started to panic as the scent of her distress came to him in wave upon wave.

"Kagome! What's wrong? What did I say?" He stepped closer, caught her arm with his hand, sniffed her for injury; _did I cut her when I held her and she just noticed? Did I hold her too tightly, did I bruise her, did I-__  
_

Her distress only increased and she shrank away from him. Worst of all, she just shook her head, looking away, not saying a word. It drove him crazy. "Kagome, if you don't tell me what's wrong, how the hell am I supposed to fix it? Please, talk to me, say fucking something!"

She closed her eyes, turned her face away, but finally spoke. "Inuyasha...do you remember what I told you two weeks ago? About being a scared little girl?"

"Keh, of course! What does that have to do with-"

She stopped him instantly with a cold finger to his lips. "Inuyasha, I'm not going to lie to you and pretend I'm not scared right now-"

"Of what? You're not-you're not actually scared of me clawing you or something by accident, are you-" he blustered, trying to hide his panic.

"Don't even think it! Don't be silly, it's got nothing to do with you being hanyou! It's just...Mou, how do I explain this?"

"Kagome...you do want this, don't you?" His voice was very quiet, very serious-the opposite of how it normally was.

"Of course I want it! It's just..." Again she trailed off, at a loss for how to explain the instinctual fear rising within her.

"Just what? Tell me Kagome. I can't-I can't protect you from something if I don't even fucking know what it is!" he hissed, desperate.

"Fine! I'll tell you! We're in the middle of the woods, days away from the well, and have no protection whatsoever-"

"The hell?! Is that what you think of me? No protection-!" He was incensed.

She buried her face in her hands. "No you baka! Not that kind of protection! I _mean_: a condom or something like that! I don't want to be pregnant while we're still after Naraku-and that's what's going to happen, isn't it? I know I couldn't abort your child, our child, never, but I could never bear to be kicked out of the quest for months on end, and if I do go, I'm sure to have a miscarriage or hurt the baby somehow with all the fighting we do, and Kami I couldn't deal with that! I could never bear to hurt it, or for it to be malformed when it comes because _I_ just couldn't wait to fuck you and couldn't _bear_ to stay at home and Kami damn me I'm so selfish and-"

Inuyasha was stunned at first, but recovered quickly. _So that's what was bothering her...the silly little baka..._he thought with not a little affection. Moving in front of her, he gently pulled her hands from her face, not surprised when she buried her face into his chest, sobbing hysterically. Three years had taught him enough to know that harsh words weren't always the best plan, so he just stood silently and held her till her tears ran out.

"Kagome...you're not going to get pregnant, and like hell would I ever let anything happen to, to, our child," he paused, the idea still filling him with wonder. "I...I'll always be here to take care of you, you know that right? And you baka, calling yourself selfish-you're the least selfish person I've ever met. It's kind of annoying sometimes, actually..." he drawled, trying to comfort her with a bit of humor. It paid off; she managed the smallest shaky smile at that.

"Thanks, Inuyasha...but even thought you say that...how do you know I won't get pregnant?" she whispered.

For once he was glad to be a hanyou for something other than fighting. Tapping his nose, he said: "Keh. Can smell it. You're not-not-fertile right now, I guess you'd say. Wrong time in your cycle."

She blushed; he was intrigued to notice that it spread all the way down to her chest, not just her face. "You-you, you can smell my c-cycle? Can you smell Sango's too?"

He looked away to hide his own blush. Fact was, it was only because he'd made such a study of her scent that he could notice such subtle shifts-for all other women, he could only figure out when they were bleeding and no more. But he wasn't all that crazy about admitting to such stalker-like behavior...

"Well, yeah. Yours, I mean. I can smell where you are in it. Sango's not so much. Haven't known her as long." he stumbled. It wasn't like it wasn't true, although it wasn't the real reason...hopefully she'd just leave it at that and they could just pick up where they left off-

"Oh. Well then, I feel like a baka. Sorry for putting you through all that..." she looked away, contrite all over again.

"Keh. Don't mention it." He paused, debating whether he should add more. "It-I'm glad you cared so much." He was too-but even more with the radiant smile she sent his way.

"Now...where were we before all of this started...remind me..." He murmured, his voice dropping an octave; she shivered in response, her skin tingling with his touch as he slowly brought her flush with him and she felt his stiff member pressing into her belly.

"I was thinking about how unfair it is that I have to be bare in the cold and you don't." She explained, her face a study of innocent helpfulness.

"Keh...That can be easily fixed..." he grudgingly pulled away, wanting to give her the show she'd given him, watching her intently for even her smallest reactions.

Slowly he untied his obi, parted his kosode, shrugged it off his shoulders and let it drop to the ground...(he felt himself stiffen all the more with the way her eyes instantly darkened, watching his every move). Languidly he finished untying the ties of his hakama, letting it slip to the ground inch by agonizing inch...(he caught the scent of her arousal, so strong he felt dizzy for all the blood that flooded south in reaction to it). Finally he kicked it away, finally he stood in the moonlight, as bare to her gaze as she was to his...(her heart rate picked up, her breath came in husky little gasps, he felt himself drool just listening to it).

He wanted to taste her, he realized slowly. He wanted to bury his tongue in her folds, drink and drink and drink of her arousal as she had of his. But she wasn't quite ready, wasn't dripping as of yet, for all that she wasn't far off...Well, no reason he couldn't fix that.

She had only a moment's warning from the predatory glint in his eyes before he'd swept her up into her arms, kissed her firmly once, then swung her down to gently rest on his haori.

"Kagome...tell me...tell me how you want me to touch you..." he growled, voice rough with desire.

"Inu-yaaaasha..." she murmured, surprised; then moaned the rest as his hand found her breast.

He grinned. "You like that, huh? What about...this?" He was gifted by another moan as he squeezed gently.

They continued like that for a while, slowly at first, but always increasing in intensity... him touching, caressing, cupping, holding, squeezing; rubbing, flicking, pinching, kissing, licking, nipping, sucking…her moaning, groaning, panting, grunting, making every sound under the rainbow, and all just adding fuel to the fire...finally, when all she could do was gasp his name in detached monosyllables, he moved away from her, down, parting her thighs, his eyes nearly crossing at the rush of hot arousal that flooded his nose...he barely had it in him to groan: "Kagome...is this...ok?" and catch sight of her nod before he dove down, to drown himself in her heat.

He kept up his manual attentions to her breasts, and it was in the middle of a moan that he first tasted her. He lapped at her gently, delighting in her taste, then slowly slid his tongue further inside of her, twisting and turning and flicking in tandem with his fingers till she was mewling helplessly, and he had to pull one hand back to hold her hips in place for her helpless bucking. He couldn't help the possessive smirk that crowned his lustful expression, knowing that it was _him_ she had chosen, _him_ she wanted to do this with, _him_ and _only him_ that would _ever_ touch or see her like this. He had barely finished the primal thought when she came, screaming his name, arching her back and flooding him with a rush he gulped down eagerly.

"Inuyasha...that was..._oh..._" she finally sighed when she came down.

He grinned, crawling back up her form to press a kiss to her sweaty temple. "You liked _that_, huh? What, never had an orgasm before?"

"It's...different for girls...or maybe it's just me...I mean, well, no, I haven't. But as for how much I liked it..." she smiled at him in such a way, such a mix of sexy and innocent; he knew she was up to something. He opened his mouth, ready to ask, when he found out.

Gently she gripped his hard length where it pressed into her soft skin, and slowly guided him to her, the tip just inside her slick folds, already aching for him all over again. He hissed, slowly sliding inside of her, then paused when he reached a barrier. He glanced worriedly at her face, then at their joining, then back again, debating about how to proceed...He didn't want to hurt her...but it was so hard to not just take her all in one push, so hard to resist the mind-blowing feel of her around part of him, so hot, so wet, so tight...

"Kagome...I'm going to have to push, and it's going to hurt, and I'm really fucking sorry-" She stopped him with a kiss.

"It's ok...Just...get it over with now, you know?"

He didn't need to be told twice. He thrust quickly, sheathing himself fully inside of her all at once, catching her cry of pain in a desperate kiss. He pulled away, watching her, holding his breath-the pain in her expression didn't fade as he shifted; worse, it only increased as she tried to cope with the invasion, stretching her so tight, more than she thought she could have gone before.

"Kagome? If you want me to stop, just tell me-"

"No, you don't have to...I really do want this...I just...Mou, you're just so big, I need a bit to get used to it..."

She would have laughed if she could have seen his face; unfortunately her eyes were scrunched in pain. Unable to watch her like that any longer, he started pulling out...

"Inuyasha..." she moaned in pleasure, her eyes shooting open at the sensation, filled with wonder.

He wasn't much better. Before he knew it, he'd slowly, (agonizingly slowly,) pushed back in, then out, then in, then out...Gently, slowly, dragging out the sensations as much as he could, drowning in her tight, dripping heat, he thrust into her...He'd never felt so...complete.

But it was like her kisses, her touch, her scent, her voice: so amazing, so right, and yet...still not enough. His tempo increased, his hands worshipped her curves, his mouth trailed a searing path along her lips, chin, neck, collarbone, the swell and valley of her breasts, finally taking her hardened nipples, swirling about then flicking them with his tongue in time with his thrusts. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her hands buried in his hair, pushing his face into her cleavage, mewling and moaning and groaning a storm of want. Desire ricocheted between them, pleasure burned in their bellies, the spring coiled and tightened-

And together they fell, drowning in each other, screaming (and howling) to the world the one name that meant everything to them.

* * *

Sango and Miroku broke from their daze of kisses, looking up in surprise as the wind carried the faint familiar sound of their friend's voices...yet they'd never before heard them abusing them in quite that manner...

"Was that howl...Inuyasha?" Sango squeaked, blushing fiercely.

Miroku looked back at her, a leer firmly in place. "And the scream was Kagome's. It seems our friends are in danger-of being interrupted, that is. I wonder how long they've been at it..." he mused, enjoying her increasingly flushed face.

Sango surprised herself by not simply slapping him for the comments and ending the discussion. "It's their first time, actually...Kagome-chan was really angry with herself for still keeping him at arm's length, and I guess she finally got over whatever was holding her back..."she explained to his disbelieving look.

"Oh? And were you as successful?" He grinned, leaning forward a little, his hand snaking around, first time that night-

"One step at a time Houshi-sama. Good night." She grabbed the hand with a knowing, tired look, then stiffly stood up to go to sleep-on the other side of the fire from him.

"Sango...at least let me kiss you good night!" He threw it out on instinct, and was surprised when she nodded shyly, even after the pause.

Standing quickly, her tried to pour all the appreciation and sincerity he could into the contact; judging from her dazed, blissful smile when she finally walked away, he'd been successful.

He had just sat himself down to keep watch with the hanyou gone (and dream up ways to get Sango to look at him like that more often), when she surprised him again by answering.

"And yes...I was just as successful as she. Looks like we get to go to the onsen tomorrow morning after all," she murmured, so softly he thought he'd misheard.

He had no idea what she meant, but he didn't care; the happiness bursting through her tone was all he needed to hear.

He settled back, content to think of his future, no need to resort to false fantasy.

* * *

Inuyasha came to first; regretfully he pulled out of the still trembling girl, and grudgingly faced the fact that he, supernaturally strong and durable hanyou that he was, couldn't manage another round. _Looks like she won't either..._he thought to himself as he observed the object of his affections, still blind to the world. _Keh. Just wait,_ he promised her, a more loving smirk than usual gracing his features. _We've got all summer to build up our endurance..._

Smiling tenderly, he pulled her on her side, draped his hakama over her (he didn't know if she shivered still for the aftershocks, or because she was cold, but didn't want to take the chance), then joined her under it, spooning her against him, holding her close.

Kagome opened her eyes to see silver surrounding her, red covering her, a sensation of such utter contentment and quiet, drowsy happiness, of being safe from everything, it only took a moment for her drift off after the hanyou at her back.

She murmured, just before she fell asleep: "Mmm...b'lieve me now, 'yasha? Told you I...wanted you..."

He chuckled softly into the nape of her neck. "I know, Kagome, I know. I know now," he paused, a look of wonder in his eyes as he entertained himself with some choice memories of her 'proof'.

"Fuck, I love you," he growled fiercely, reconsidering his decision to save more rounds for later-then noticed just how tired she was. _Really wore her out huh...baka..._he thought fondly.

"Go to sleep," he added in a whisper, kissing her hair.

She nodded groggily in agreement. "You too, 'n'yasha...Love you too. G'night..."

His mouth was still pressed to her locks when she woke the next morning, his arms still locked about her form in a protective cradle of an embrace.

This time, there were no catches to her happiness, no mistakes or hesitancies to regret.

She was so happy, she forgot to go to the onsen altogether.

Somehow, she ended up missing her onsen trips with Sango most of the rest of the summer. But neither girl regretted it.

They laughed at the irony from the arms of the men they'd finally dared to love.

* * *

**A/N: **See? What did I tell you about the toothbrushes? Oh wait. You're still drowning in the fluff. Guess I probably should have said 'Super-sized toothbrushes they use to wash the dinosaur teeth with in museums' instead. Oops...

Hope you liked it anyway.

**Edit:** Thanks to phlawere for the title, and some quite helpful suggestions. And getting the original and the impetus for a sequel in my head. And thank you to all who reviewed the first bit and gave his/her take on the idea; I'll consider asking readers about possible fics in the future, it worked well enough this time.


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